The Marauders Tale
by Learn Laugh Love Live
Summary: Hogwarts in the Marauders era: a story of friendship and foes, magic and mischief, life and love. Sometimes the people we need the most are very unexpected, but after all, the best thing to hold onto in life is each other.
1. Hogwarts At Last

**The Marauders Tale **

**Disclaimer: As much as I love all things Harry Potter, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any scenarios, names, and concepts of this story belong to her. **

**Chapter 1: Hogwarts At Last**

The morning of September 1st, 1978 dawned crisp, clear, and sunny. There was a slight breeze that had picked up several dry leaves and was carrying them to and fro across the tree-lined street. One leaf soared through the air like an acrobat, yet came to a stop abruptly as it sailed into the closed window of a small, pleasant looking house on the corner of the street. Through the window, voices could be heard arguing.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, Petunia-" Lily Evans's pleading voice was cut off by the sharp honking of her parents' car. It was the beginning of Lily's 7th and final year at Hogwarts, and she wanted her sister to come and see her off at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. However, she was refusing, and their parents were clearly becoming impatient, as Lily had been making them wait for a long time.

"Petunia, please?" Lily asked. "Please come along?"

Petunia's face twisted into an angry scowl, and she turned her back on her sister. "No, I don'twant to," she said, her voice trembling.

Ever since Petunia had learned Lily was a witch and she was not, a great rift had risen between them. Lily knew Petunia was jealous, but Petunia herself preferred to call Lily a freak and end her once close relationship with her sister in order to hide her jealousy. Coming home from Hogwarts only to find an anger-ridden Petunia who gave her the cold sholder upset Lily, and she wished her sister would come along to see her off.

"Petunia, it's my last year at Hogwarts! I really want you to come and see me off!" Lily said pleadingly. Her brilliant green eyes were clouded with sadness.

"You think I want to go see you off to that freak school? You have your own freakish witch friends to talk to."

Petunia's words hit Lily hard: Her saddened eyes narrowed.

"That's a horrible thing to say. But fine. Have it your way."

With that, Lily turned on her heel and walked out of the door, leaving Petunia alone in the house.

Lily grabbed her trunk and got into the car in a huff. If Petunia did not want to come, that was her choice. Yet, Lily couldn't help but feel sorrowful about the sister she had once been so close to.

**Later...**

When Lily and her parents arrived at Kings Cross station, the three of them piled out of the car and set off for the special wizarding platform. Her muggle parents never ceased to marvel at the unique entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

"Oh my, here we are again!" her father beamed.

"Go ahead, you can be first, Dad," Lily said.

Bracingly, her father walked straight into the stone wall lying in between platforms nine and ten.

"I'd better go next," Lily's mother said. She followed her husband through the wall.

Now it was Lily's turn. Excitedly, she walked hurriedly through the wall and felt as if she were tumbling through the air. When she opened her eyes, they widened with happiness. She was back in the wizarding world, where she belonged. Her sadness over Petunia was soon forgotten.

The gleaming Hogwarts Express, a brilliant red steam engine, was in front of her and was emitting great puffs of steam. She could hear the hoot of owls, the mewling of cats, and the chatter of students bidding their parents farewell over its mechanical grunts. It felt wonderful to be back.

"Lily," said her father. "Have a good term."

"Yes, dear," her mother said with a smile. "Write to us, tell us how things are going. Keep up with your studies-"

"But enjoy yourself!" her father interrupted her mother with a wink.

Lily hugged them both. She would miss them, as always.

"Well, I'd better be going," she said. "Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad! I'll write!" 

With these parting words, Lily left her parents and boarded the train. She soon found her friends seated comfortably in a compartent. She slid the compartment door open and took a seat next to the doorway, by Katie Jones.

"Lily!" she said. "Hey!"

"How was your summer?" asked Rose Clearwater.

"Pretty good!" said Lily, smoothing her robes as she sat down. "I mostly spent it at home with my mum and dad. How was yours?"

"Good, I went to the Wierd Sisters concert with my sister! And I made a couple of trips to Diagon Alley- guess what? My mum bought me a new broom for my birthday!" exclaimed Rose.

Lily knew Rose must have been extremely excited about this gift, as she was an avid Quidditch Player. In fact, she even played chaser for Gryffindor's team.

"Wow...cool!"

"What kind is it, Rose?" asked the fourth girl in the compartment, Mary Macdonald.

"A Meteor!" said Rose.

"A Meteor? Really?" said Lily. "You've got to be the first one at Hogwarts to have one!"

Rose smiled widely. "I suspect so! I can't wait to see the look on the Slytherins' faces when they see I've got a Meteor."

"We're definitely winning the Quidditch Cup this year!" Lily laughed. She was happy to be with her friends again, and on her way back to Hogwarts at last. But then she glanced at her watch.

"Oh, I've got to go to the front of the train and get my head girl instructions..."

"You're head girl?" asked Katie.

"Yeah," said Lily, smiling.

"Well, you definitely deserve it!"

"Thanks! Well, I'd better go. I'll be right back."

Lily slid the compartment door open, exited the compartment, and slid the door shut behind her. Carefully, she attached her Head Girl badge to her robes. When she got to the front of the train, she found a the conductor, a short, portly man wearing a red tweed suit and a red bowler hat, standing in a vacant compartment. 

"Are you Head Girl?" he asked pleasently.

"Yes," replied Lily.

"Well, congratulations. I've just got a brief message from Professor Dumbledore. It appears as if the Head Boy hasn't arrived yet...he should be here any minute..."

_Hm_, Lily thought. _I wonder who the head boy is. Maybe Remus? Or Amos Diggory? Or-?_

Her thoughts were cut off by the compartment door opening loudly. A tall boy with untidy black hair and rumpled robes had entered the compartment: It was James Potter. What was he doing here?

"Potter," Lily addressed him. "What are you doing here?" 

He smiled a crooked smile. "Well, same thing as you're doing here, I'm guessing."

Lily's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, no, you're not Head Boy, are you?" 

"Actually, I am..."

Realization hit Lily like a fist. This could not be true. _Potter? Head boy? The detention-laden, arrogant, constanly hexing, irrisponsible..._ Lily shook her head to rid her mind of the unpleasant thought.

"No," she stammered. "Why? Why you? Is Dumbledore crazy?"

"Clearly he thinks we'd work well together."

"Well, in any event," the conductor cut across them. "This young man is in fact Head Boy, deserving or not, so I must relay some instructions from Professor Dumbledore."

Lily glared at James and turned to face the conductor.

"So, instructions, yes...He says congratulations on receiving the honor of Head Boy and Girl..."

Lily rolled her eyes. James grinned.

"...You have a duty to impart your knowledge to the rest of the students at Hogwarts, and he is counting on you to set a positive example for the younger students as well as your peers..."

James was barely listening to the instructions; he was marveling at his luck that Lily Evans was Head Girl. He'd liked Lily for years: from her brilliant green eyes and dark red hair to her intelligence and vivaciousness, she was beautiful inside and out, and James was very taken with her. Yet, she didn't quite feel the same about him. To Lily, James was an arrogant fool who hexed people just for the fun of it and tried to make himself look cool. James frowned with this thought. But maybe this year would be different. Maybe he could show Lily he was more than just a conceited trouble-maker. 

"...That is all," said the conductor. "You are dismissed. We will be arriving at Hogwarts shortly."

James wanted to get the year off to a good start with Lily. Bracingly, he walked over to her as the conductorleft the compartment.

"Well, congratulations, Evans."

"Thanks, Potter. But personally, I think Dumbledore must be going crazy though, giving you the badge. I guess this gives you the perfect opportunity to dock points from people who cross you?" she replied.

"Well, that was the idea," he joked. Suddenly, he realized his mistake, which had ruined their conversation.

Rolling her eyes, Lily said, "Of course it was. I couldn't have expected anything different from an arrogant person like you."

With that, Lily left the compartment. Sighing, James could see that proving himself to Lily would not be as easy as he had hoped.

**Later...**

After the Heads meeting, James joined Sirius and his two other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, in their compartment. He tried not to let his inability to please Lily bother him. Sirius had a ton of new prank ideas for the four Marauders to pull this year. They were determined to make their last year at Hogwarts beyond memorable; he and Sirius spent the remainder of the ride discussing these new ideas.

Just as the conductor had said, they arrived at Hogwarts in very little time. It was nightime now, and the starry sky above the Hogwarts students as they piled out of the Hogwarts express was a deep shade of velvety blue. Hagrid's familiar call of, "_Firs' years, over here! Firs' years, this way! Move along now, firs' years-_" was audible over the chattering of students and whooshing of the heavy wind, and beyond the lake lay the castle itself. James sighed. It was great to be back. He could anticipate a good year ahead of him and his friends.

Once inside the great hall, the students took their places at the four long house tables. James found seats next to Sirius, Remus, and Peter; Lily and her three friends were nearby. During the feast, James couldn't help but glancing at her from time to time, wishing he could be in her good graces. But he had the whole year for daydreaming about Lily. On the other hand, the particularly tough game of Exploding Snap he was playing with Sirius was a once in a lifetime opportunity...And he was going to win...

A few minutes later, Dumbledore called the students to attention, forcing the two boys to unwillingly bring their game to a close and listen to his opening speech.

"There is indeed a time and place for long, finely crafted opening speeches, but this is not one of them," said Dumbledore in his wise, old voice. Several students laughed, and others clapped appreciatively. "As I suspect, most of you are hungry and eager to get on with the night's proceedings- as am I- so let us begin. The sorting..."

Professor McGonagall swung open the big wooden doors and led a timid gaggle of first years into the Great Hall. She walked briskly to the front of the hall, set down a wooden stool, and placed a whethered looking hat on it. As she backed away toward the first years, the hat burst out in song: its song was of the four Hogwarts houses and their respective attributes.

When the song ended, students applauded politely, and the sorting began. Professor McGonagoll opened a scroll of parchment and called out the name of a new first year.

"Anderson, Jed!" she called.

A short, pale boy walked timidly up to the stool. As he tried to mount it, he fell off. The Slytherin table and Sirius errupted into laughter. James chuckled.

"That's a Gryffindor if I ever saw one," he whispered to Sirius sarcastically. Sirius laughed again.

"Oh, dear," said Professor McGonagall. "Get up, Jed, it's okay. Hop on the stool now."

Jed had turned bright red and was now impossibly more self-conscious. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head; it covered nearly all of his face.

_Ah, _said the hat to himself. _Not the brightest sprout in the bunch, but nevertheless eager and hardworking...yes, I know just what to do with you..._

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat called. The Hufflepuff table clapped politely.

"Bronwood, Ruth!" called Professor McGonagall.

A tall, confident looking girl with dark brown hair approached the stool and sat down.

_Hm, an excellent brain...curiosity...confidence...yes, this is easy! oh, but there's also some ambition in their...a thirst for success...where to put you? well, better be..._

"RAVENCLAW!" The blue and bronze clad table clapped for Ruth.

"Clemens, Annabelle!"

_Another Clemens...yes, I know just where to put you!_

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Connelly, Sam!"

_Tricky, you are! You could do well in so many houses... you've got courage... intelligence... drive... let me look deeper... yes... your innermost nature will decide your house for you! Alright, you're a..._

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Drake, Peter!"

_Ah, this is nearly the easiest decision so far...it's obvious, right there...courage...desire to do the right thing...selflessness..._

"GRYFFINDOR!" James and Sirius clapped as Peter joined their table.

"Ellerford, Marissa!"

_Let me have a look here...cunning...power hungry...yes...better be a..._

"SLYTHERIN!"

The sorting seemed to drag on for ages; James and Sirius amused themselves by shooting menacing looks at Severus Snape over at the Slytherin table.

Finally, "Wells, Emily!", an amiable-looking blonde girl with rosy cheeks and a hopefull smile, became a Hufflepuff, and the sorting was over. Dumbledore dismissed the students and reminded the Heads of House that they would be staying in the Heads Room this term.

James left his friends and found Lily. He was determined to say something right to her for once.

"Er- should we show the first years to the common room now?"

"Yes, do you want to take the front and I'll bring up the rear?"

"Sure." He had said something acceptable. His heart lept and this mere success: it was uncommon for him to have accomplished a successful exchange...

Lily gathered the first years into a group and James called out in an important voice,

"First years! This way! Follow me! Gryffindor common room, this way..."

He led the pack through the hallways until they came to the familiar portrait of the Fat Lady.

"I hope you have the password, Potter," called Lily from the back of the group.

"Wow, Evans- I'm shocked! You don't have the password, and I do...What a change..."

She sighed; He immediately backtracked.

"Well, first years, to get into the common room, you've got to have the password. Luckily for us, I do." He turned to face the Fat Lady. "Hippogriff," he said, and the portrait swung open.

As he lead the first years into the common room, he said, "This'll be your home for the rest of your lives at Hogwarts."

With that, he left to go to the Heads room. Sirius and Remus were close behind him. After saying goodbye to Katie, Rose, and Mary, Lily herself set off to the Heads room. When she arrived , she saw Sirius and Remus lounging on the large couch in the middle of the room, but James was nowhere in sight.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"Just enjoying our new second home," said Sirius mischeviously. Remus cracked a grin.

"Oh really?" she replied. "Well, you guys'll spend time in here after I become the giant squid."

Sirius grinned. "Well, you see, if James lives in here, we come along as a package deal."

"Oh, James, I'd nearly forgotten," said Lily in an irritable tone.

"Give him a break, Lily," said Remus quietly. "He's really not that bad." 

"Not that bad? He's an arrogant, conceited fool who jinxes anyone who disagrees with him for the fun of it!"

"James is my best friend," growled Sirius. "Don't talk about him like that. And besides, half the time he only acts like a jerk because he can't help himself when you're around."

"Of course, it all comes back to this, doesn't it?" said Lily heatedly. "Well, I don't like Potter and I will never go out with him. He should just save his energy trying."

At that moment, a figure emerged from the doorway. It was James. He was trying- and failing miserably- to look as if Lily's words did not bother him.

"Er- Moony, Padfoot, you'd better get back to the common room." With a face of utter anguish, he walked past Lily into the room that was marked 'James'.

Lily was speechless: The look on James's face crushed her. She knew she was right about him, but she couldn't help but feel terrible that he had overheard such an insulting conversation. But she had insulted him so many times before. What was different now?

Silently, Remus and Sirius filed out of the room, leaving Lily standing alone. In shock, she walked into her own room, marked 'Lily', and got into bed. Soon, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I mostly wanted to introduce you to the characters and get the story (and school year) going. More action to come in the next chapter! Please read & review...comments and critiques would be greatly appreciated! :) **


	2. The Term Begins

**The Marauders Tale**

**Disclaimer: As much as I love all things Harry Potter, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any scenarios, names, and concepts of this story belong to her. **

**Chapter 2: The Term Begins**

The next morning, Lily got out of bed and put her robes on. She had not slept well last night, with James's wounded face haunting her. She was determined to apologize and make an effort to treat him better. After all, something was different this year. She'd insulted him countless times in the past, but his reaction to her insults was new. In the past, he would just try to shrug it off and pretend like it didn't bother him. But this year, yesterday, she had finally seen the vulnerable side of James, something he would have _never_ exposed in his arrogance. Maybe, _just maybe_, he was finally deflating his head a bit? Lily resolved that she would give him a chance.

Tentatively, she opened her door. Peering outside into the Heads Room, she could see that James's door was shut, and he was gone. Sadly, Lily left the Heads Room and went to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The ceiling, which mirrored the weather, was bright blue and sunny. _This is a good sign,_ thought Lily. Seeing her friends, she walked hurriedly over to the table and sat down next to Rose.

"How's the Heads Room?" asked Mary?

"Uh, nice," said Lily, the memory of the night before still fresh in her mind.

"And what about Potter?" asked Katie curiously. "How did he become Head Boy?"

"Exactly what I was thinking, but I'm guessing his talent convinced Dumbledore to ignore all of his detentions..."

Her friends giggled.

"Well, I bet it'll be interesting sharing the room with him," said Katie.

Lily sighed. "More like awful, but I guess we'll see, won't we?"

Someone behind her cleared their throat. Whipping her head around, Lily saw that it was James. Blushing, she looked at her plate.

"Er- sorry," he said uncomfortably. "I just wanted, I just thought I'd let Rose know that quidditch practice will start tonight, and we'll be practicing Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:oo."

"Have you been made quidditch captain?" asked Rose.

"Yeah," said James.

"Congratulations," she said. "We're gonna get the cup this year for sure..."

Smiling a forced grin, he walked off and sat down next to Remus. At that moment, Lily had an idea. She needed to talk about last night's incident, and the Potter situation in general, but she couldn't talk to Sirius seriously, and wouldn't bring herself to talk to James himself. But she could talk to Remus, James's other best friend and a more thoughtful boy. Smiling reassuredly to herself, she buttered a piece of toast and turned back to her friends.

**Meanwhile...**

"Ugh," said Sirius, sitting down next to James. "Could our schedule be any worse?"

"What've we got?" asked James.

"Let's see," Sirius said in a despairing voice. "Double Potions and Care of Magical Creachers with the Slytherins in the same day."

James looked at his own schedule and winced. "Great," he said sarcastically. "Great. I can tell this is going to be a fantastic day..."

After finishing his muffin, he set off with Sirius and Remus to Potions class in the dungeons, where he was greeted by Professor Horace Slughorn. To James's delight- shortly followed by anguish- Lily was setting up her cauldron next to her friend Mary. When she noticed James eying her, she looked away quickly, embarrassed. James sighed: At least it was better than the icy glares she ususally sent him...

"Why hello," said Professor Slughorn in his congenial, booming voice. "Welcome back to my N.E.W.T. Potions class. This term will prepare you for your N.E.W.T. test this spring, and further instruct you about the fine art of potion making."

Sirius snorted quietly. He had barely made 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L., and hated potions. The only reason he had agreed to take the N.E.W.T. class was because James and Remus were.

"Today, we will be brewing the Draught of Peace. This potion is highly useful, yet highly dangerous. For, if one step goes awry, the potion becomes fatal..."

"Maybe I should give him a sip of mine once I'm done with it, then," whispered Sirius to James. James stifled a laugh.

"Mr. Black! Kindly stop talking! The instructions are on the board-" He whipped his wand and writing appeared on the chalk board. "-and all the ingredients you will need are in the cupboard." He flicked his wand at the cupboard and it sprung open. "Please begin. Best of luck!"

James, Sirius, and Remus spent the rest of the period feverishly stirring the cauldrons counter-clockwise and clockwise, dropping in various ingredients, and muttering incantations. Yet, by the end of the period, none of them had produced a successfull Draught of Peace. Sirius's- to the boys' amusement- was bright red and emitting gold sparks. James, who had soot all over his face, had produced a somewhat successful potion close to the required shimmering silver, but it was tinted slightly blue and emitting vapor. Remus had ended up with a light green bubbling potion.

"Ugh," said James. "Could this possibly get any-" 

James was cut off by Professor Slughorn's voice. "Oh, _excellent_ job, Miss Evans! Splendid work!"

Turning to face Lily, James saw that she was standing next to a cauldron containing a perfectly shimmering silvery potion.

"Fifteen points for Gryffindor!"

Lily smiled, filled a flask with her potion, handed it to Professor Slughorn, and vanished her potion. Carefully, she took down her cauldron and returned her unused ingredients to the cabinet. Sirius approached her looking spellbound.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Everything! Right!"

"Oh," she said modestly, brushing her hair out of her face. James's stomach somersaulted again. "It's not anything special...I just followed the directions..."

"Evans, you're something else," he said, shaking his head. Dumbstruck, he returned to James.

"Class dismissed! For homework, I want twelve inches of parchment on the properties of a correct Draught of Peace potion by Friday."

As the class filed out of the dungeon, Lily whispered something to Mary, left her, and approached Remus.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked him.

Looking confused, he said, "Sure. Now?"

"Yes, please."

The two of them walked away, leaving James gaping after them.

"What's that all about?" he muttered to Sirius, trying to look as though he wasn't jealous.

"Dunno, mate," he said. "Remus'll tell us later though."

**Meanwhile...**

"So," said Remus. "What can I do for you?"

Lily instantly knew she'd made the right decision by talking to Remus rather than Sirius. The two of them sat down on a bench. Lily turned to face him.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "I need to talk to you about James."

"Ah," said Remus. "About what?"

"Last night- and in general. I feel horrible..."

"You want the truth, I assume?"

"Yes, please."

"Last night- that hurt him terribly."

Lily winced. "I know, and I feel awful that he overheard that."

"He loves you, and he has for years. But, undoubtably, you already know that." A small smile was playing at Remus's lips.

"Yes," said Lily earnestly. "I know. But I do think he's a conceited jerk, and it frustrates me that he constantly begs for me to tell him off and hate him, but then wallows in self-pity..."

"Ah. You see, James may appear arrogant- and that may be partially true- but beneath the arrogance that may appear on the surface, James is a good person. And he's the best friend I'll ever have."

Lily was surprised to hear James discussed in such a positive way.

"I'm willing to believe that's true," she said earnestly.

"It really is. About last night, that hurt him terribly. But I think he's giving up now. That was too much for him to go through again."

"Remus," said Lily. Tears were starting to fill her green eyes. "Part of me hates James's guts for what he does, but part of me feels awful for him for what I said."

"I'm sorry you're upset. But I think that's just the reason James likes you: you're very kind. I think that no one's forcing you to go out with James if you truly don't want to, but I've got the feeling you owe him an apology."

"I'm definitely going to apologize. Oh, but it'll be so embarrassing...I'm sure he doesn't want to relive the incident, and neither do I..."

"That's true, but I'm sure he'll be happy once you apologize. In fact, I'm sure of it."

"Well, okay then. I'll apologize later."

"Also, I think you should know: often times he can't help but acting like a fool when you're around because he's desperate to impress you, you know."

"I just wish he'd understand that there are better ways to impress me. I don't want to see him cursing people or making fun of them. I want to see him be kind."

Remus knew she had said the truth. "Well, we can only hope he realizes that. I better be going, though."

Lily stood up. Looking directly at Remus, she said, "Thank you."

**Later...**

The rest of the day passed slowly and monotonously. James dozed through Defense Against the Dark Arts and barely held his temper when Nathaniel Horn from Slytherin provoked Sirius in Care of Magical Creatures. Yet, one thought was one his mind as he left Care of Magical Creatures that he hadn't had a chance to discuss all day. As soon as he, Sirius, and Remus were out of earshot of Nathaniel and his stupid Slytherin friends, he asked the question he'd been wanting to all day.

"What did Evans want to know this morning?" he asked Remus, trying to sound and look casual.

"Prongs, there's no point trying to look as if you don't care," said Sirius, obviously seeing through Jame's attempt to look nonchalant, and as if he hadn't been worrying about it all day. "You don't have to pretend with us."

"Alright," James muttered hopelessly. "But what did she want?"

"Hm," said Remus mischeviously. "It _was_ a private conversation. Should I tell you...?" 

"YES!" shouted James, beyond caring. He just needed to know...

Remus grew serious. "Okay. She wanted to talk about you."

James's heart lept. Talk about _him_? But then just as soon as he felt ecstatic, he remembered the incident the night before, and felt instantly upset. Clearly she had wanted to rant about how conceited he was; this thought filled him with sadness.

Bracingly, he said, "What about me?" and then lowered his eyes.

"Where to begin?" James's heart sunk. But Remus's eyes had a happy glint in them. "It wasn't terrible actually. I got a lot of insight into how she's feeling..."

These words were enough to liven James up immediately. "Tell me everything she said," he demanded.

"Hm..." said Remus, gazing off, trying to remember. "Well, she came up to me and said, 'I need to talk about James.'""

James's heart swelled, but his brain was cautious. He had had too much experience dealing with Lily.

"At first, she said that she feels horrible about what happened last night. I told her the truth, that that really hurt you..."

"REMUS! DID THAT SCARE HER AWAY OR MAKE HER MAD? IF IT DID-"

"Wow, Prongs," said Sirius in a brisk, business-like voice. "You must really love her if you'd get mad at Moony for telling her the truth-"

"Shut up," said James, cutting across him, refusing to acknowledge that he was right. "Did it make her mad?" he asked again, forcefully.

Remus chuckled. "Calm down, James. It didn't make her feel threatened. In fact, it actually helped the situation."

James breathed a sigh of relief. "Fine. Go on..."

"When I told her it hurt you, she winced, and then said that she felt awful. But then she got defensive, and said that you beg for her to get mad at you because of your behavior, and that it frustrates her how it's your own fault you make her mad but then feel sorry for yourself. From what I gather, she's upset that she hurts you but frustrated that it's mostly your doing."

James was hanging on every word. "Okay," he said earnestly. "What else?"

"Then I told her that you may appear arrogant, but you're a good person underneath it all."

"Moony, always the kind, sensitive one. If it would've been me, I would've just told her he is an arrogant git, but get over it and go out with him-"

Remus laughed. "Well, Sirius, good thing she asked me then..."

James was desperate to hear more about what Lily had said. "What did she say, you know, when you said that?"

Turning his attention back to James, Remus went on: "She said, 'I'm willing to believe that.'

James blinked. He couldn't believe it. Had Lily actually said something good about him? "Go on," he said eagerly.

"Then she looked sad, and she was like, 'Part of me hates him, but part of me feels awful'...And I told her she should apologize to you. And she said she would." Remus finished happily.

James couldn't believe it. His head was in a daze and his heart was thumping loudly. Lily felt awful? Lily was going to apologize? Lily could believe that he was a good person?

He was happier than he'd been in ages and this newfound joy stayed with him for the rest of the evening.

**Later...**

After dinner it was time for the Gryffindor team's first quidditch practice.

When his team assembled in the locker room and had changed into their quidditch robes, James began pacing back and forth.

"We're winning the quidditch cup this year," he said calmly, as he turned to face his team. "We've got an excellent team, and we've got a good chance of pulling it off. I don't care if we need to practice every night-"

"To bad we wouldn't be able to, seeing as you're in detention practically every night," interjected Rose. The rest of the team laughed.

"Clearwater, I'll have none of that," said James, donning a mock superior, disapproving tone. _She's Lily's friend, though, _he thought to himself as an afterthrought. _You've got to hold your tongue._ "But, anyway, if it means we need to train every night, if it means we need to skive off potions or other worthless subjects to go over strategies [the team chuckled], if it means we need to fly on our own to practice, we'll do it. I'm not leaving Hogwarts without the quidditch cup, and I know we've got it in us."

"Here here!" shouted Stuart Price, a 6th year beater.

"Yeah, we'll win it," said Henry Brown, the teams' 6th year seeker.

"Excellent attitude," said James, admiring his team and their newfound motivation. "Onto the pitch now!"

He led his team onto the pitch, and called out as everyone was mounting their brooms:

"Alright now. Let's see what we can do! We're just going to warm up first, but I want your full effort. Slytherin is our first game, and we won't beat them just going through the motions at practice; that's for sure." He gripped the quaffle in one hand, and mounted his own broom with the other. "Okay, here we go. One- two- three!"

The team kicked off and soared into the air. James wove around the pitch flying as fast as he could, loving the exhilaration that came with being on his broom. Once he had gotten over the initial pleasure of finally being back on his broom, he joined the rest of his team and formed a loose circle in the air.

"Okay, we're just going to pass the quaffle to warm up. Remember, play like you're in an actual match." 

With that, he tossed the quaffle to Henry, who tossed it to Victoria Fletcher, a new 5th year chaser who appeared to have excellent potential and a good hand with the quaffle. Victoria tossed it to Marcus Fabian, the team's 7th year keeper, who tossed it to Rose, who tossed it to Michael Cramer, the other beater, who was new, and a 6th year. Michael fumbled the quaffle, but quickly recovered it and threw it to Stuart, who threw it back to James. James relished the feeling of the quaffle in his hand.

"Good work, everyone!" shouted James. In fact, he was very pleased with the first glimpse he had gotten of his team. "Let's pass for a bit more to make sure we're fully warmed up, and then we'll play!"

He tossed the quaffle to Rose, who threw it to Marcus, who threw it to Stuart, and the team passed the quaffle for about five more minutes. Finally, when James caught the quaffle for the sixth time, he called,

"Alright, we're going to play now." He flew down to the box which contained the balls and opened it. "Marcus, get to the hoops; chasers, you'll be shooting on him; beaters, you'll be trying to disrupt the chasers. I'm releasing the quaffle now!" 

He let go of the quaffle and it zoomed into the air; Victoria caught it and passed it to Rose. The two chasers- he, himself being the 3rd- then went to work, flying in tight formation, trying to score on Marcus.

"Here come the bludgers!" he shouted. With that, he removed the leather straps that had been restraining the bludgers, and the two black balls shot into the air. James dove out of their way as they first ascended into the air. Michael approached one of the bludgers and hit it toward Rose, who was in possession of the quaffle, forcing her to swerve out of the way. The game was beginning to mirror an actual match.

"I'm letting out the snitch!" called James to Henry. He released the tiny golden ball, and after a minute, Henry began to search for it.

He was free to enter the match now. Kicking off from the ground hard, James soared into the air and began readying himself to reveive the quaffle. Victoria, who was in posession, threw it to him and wove behind him, overlapping him to the other side. He immediately threw the quaffle back. She caught it, tucked it under her arm, and sped toward goal. Finally, she threw it with all her might toward the farthest hoop, and it sailed past Marcus.

"Nice shot!" called James. "Marcus, remember to block the near post, too!"

Marcus nodded and tossed the quaffle to Rose. The game resumed.

The practice continued to go extremely well. James watched his team closely, and liked what he saw. Finally, Henry found the snitch, and ended the practice.

"That's all for tonight!" he shouted. The team descended, hopped off their brooms, and went to the locker room to change. James put all of the balls back into the box, and then changed back into his school robes. He changed hurriedly, eager to get back to the Heads Room knowing Lily was going to apologize to him tonight...

**Meanwhile...**

Lily had just finished dinner in the Great Hall and had returned to the Gryffindor common room with Mary and Katie, since Rose was at quidditch practice. They had been discussing their first day back at Hogwarts, but when that conversation hit a lull, Lily brought up a new subject she'd been hoping to talk about with her friends.

"I need your guys's advice on something," she said.

"What is it?" asked Mary curiously, giving Lily her attention.

"Well, last night, I went to the Heads Room, and Remus and Sirius were there, but James wasn't. Sirius got me talking about James, and I got mad at him and said that I don't like him, I'd never go out with him, and he should save his energy trying to impress me. Then he walked in and I could tell he'd overheard what I said, and was really upset," Lily finished sadly.

"Oh Lily," said Katie. "You probably hurt his feelings..." 

"I know I did," said Lily. "I talked to Remus about it earlier-" [Mary raised her eyebrows] "-And he said that James was really upset about it and it really hurt him." She sighed. "That brings me to the thing I need advice on. Remus said I should apologize, and I was thinking I probably should. What do you think?"

Katie was first to respond. "Definitely. You may hate him- and I don't blame you- but you should still apologize. You hurt his feelings."

"But it was the truth," said Mary seriously. "You can't lead him on by feeling sorry for him if you're still going to hate him in the end. Think of how he'll feel if you say you're sorry and turn around and crush him again? Potter needs to hear the truth and accept it."

"But Mary," said Katie. "Even if that _is_ the truth, he shouldn't have heard it that way. She doesn't have to go out with him, or even like him. She just needs to treat him kindly. She needs to apologize for being rude when she said that, and that he had to overhear her saying it. She needs to tell him the truth, just nicer."

"But she's told him hundreds of times and he hasn't listened!" said Mary. "Maybe he will now!"

"But is that what I want?" said Lily slowly. "To have him not listen because he's upset with me? I think he'll listen if I tell him seriously. And I need to apologize. Not for not liking him; for hurting his feelings."

"Well, okay," said Mary. "If you're sure..."

"I am," said Lily, and left to go back to the Heads Room.

**Later...**

When James finally got back to the Heads Room, he rumpled his already messy hair, and entered the room cautiously. Lily was lounging on the coach, reading _A History of Magic_ and writing something on her parchment. When she heard him come into the room, she set down her work and stood up.

"Potter," she said.

"Yes?"

"Can I have a word?"

"Go on." 

"I owe you an apology. I'm sorry...about last night."

"Oh, well, thank you. Apology accepted."

Lily looked him straight in the eyes. His stomach turned to jelly; she had never looked straight into his eyes before and he had never really seen her brilliant green eyes this way before. "I know I must've hurt you by saying those things, and I feel awful."

James cleared his throat. "Well, thank you. Let's move beyond that now, shall we?" He immediately hated himself for not being more polite or charming. Lily was making a great sacrifice apologizing; a move he'd been dreaming of for years. He needed to reciprocate and do himself justice. 

"Of course. You know my opinion of you, but putting you down so rudely was unacceptable. I'm sorry."

"Yes, I certainly do know," James said jokingly, yet forlornly; the joke had slipped out. "Thanks for apologizing, Evans," he added immediately, steering the conversation back to more serious waters, where he knew she wanted it to be. "This really means a lot to me."

"Friends?" he added as an afterthought, immediately hoping he hadn't gone too far.

Lily sighed. "Sure, why not? Friends." With that, she walked over to the couch, collected her work, and moved to enter her room. As she was opening the door to her room, she turned around to face James again. There was a slight smile on her face.

"By the way, you proved me wrong. You handled my apology in a very kind, un-arrogant way. Maybe even mature." With these parting words fresh on her lips, she walked into her room and shut the door behind her.

James was dumbstruck. He had finally impressed her in the right way.

**Author's Note: Hope you liked the Lily/James action! Let me know your thoughts about this chapter! **


	3. The Secret Passage

**The Marauders Tale**

**Disclaimer: As much as I love all things Harry Potter, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any scenarios, names, and concepts of this story belong to her. **

**Chapter 3: The Secret Passage**

The next day, James awoke blissful, still basking in the aura of the previous night's conversation with Lily. Yet, he also had a fierce determination to keep the newly begun friendship going. She had taking a great step and apologized, which demonstrated that she cared at least marginally about his feelings; he had responded reasonably well, and to his great delight, even impressed her. He was determined to continue his success and take his new chance of appearing more mature and polite and run with it. This was his chance; he would not waste it. Once he had pondered the previous night's conversation for the millionth time, he got out of bed and was greeted by his three best friends.

"So, Prongs...did Evans actually apologize last night?" asked Sirius, his name representing his mood for once.

"Yeah," said James.

"You don't need to pretend like it was no big deal," said Sirius. "Tell us everything."

James had never appreciated his friends more.

"Well, I walked into the Heads Room after Quidditch Practice, and there she was. I was expecting her to apologize after Moony said she was going to- [he beamed at Remus]- and there she was. She was like 'I owe you an apology and I'm sorry about last night.' Then I said 'Thank you; apology accepted.' and she looked me straight in the eye [his face obviously lit up] and said 'I know I must have hurt your feelings- I feel awful.' Then I suggested we put it behind us and move on and she said 'Of course. You know how I feel about you but putting you down like that was rude and unacceptable.' I said 'Thanks for apoligizing, it means a lot to me.' Then I said 'Friends?' and she said 'Sure, why not?'"

Sirius clapped him on the back.

"Brilliant, mate!" he said heartilly.

"Wait, there's more," said James. "Then she turned around and said that I had proved her wrong; I had acted in a kind and un-arrogant way!"

"Ruddy brilliant!" said Sirius. "Congratulations! She finally realized you're more than a conceited git!"

James smiled. He hoped so.

"Prongs, I'm happy for you," said Remus.

"Fantastic!" squeaked Peter.

"Aw, I'm blushing," said James sarcastically. But on the inside, he really was.

"Well, we better get to breakfast before James here gets all mushy..." said Sirius cheekily. The four boys set off to the Great Hall.

**Meanwhile...**

Lily herself had been pondering her conversation with James all night. She was shocked at how kindly and humbly he had taken her apology. It really seemed as if he had changed; the old James Potter would have gloated when she came to him, while the new James Potter actually seemed truly generous when she said she was sorry. He had accepted her apology and offered to put it behind him if she would, not gloat in her presence or use her gesture as a way to gain impossibly more attention. And furthermore, James had seemed almost _vulnerable_ when she had hurt him. Seeing the imfamous James sad, vulnerable, and knocked off his high horse made Lily feel a slight sense of compassion toward him, a feeling that greatly surprised her. In fact, the whole conversation had been exceedingly surprising. She had felt an odd connection when she was talking with him. _No,_ she thought to herself, shaking the idea off. _This is James Potter we're talking about. Remember how he used to be..._

But part of her, in the back of her mind, was still replaying their conversation...

**Later...**

"Ugh," said James as he returned to the Common Room that night after Quidditch practice. The amount of homework he already had- even on his 3rd day back at school- was enourmous and intimidating. He didn't know where to begin.

"Do I do the Charms essay first, or the Potions essay on the Draught of Peace? Or the Hippogriff essay?" James muttered to Sirius.

Sirius grinned. "How about neither? Let's hit the kitchens."

James sighed. "Let me at least do the Potions essay. Give me five minutes. Then let's go."

"Fine," Sirius fake grumbled.

James quickly scrawled some words across his parchment using very big, sloppy cursive. He was determined to at least complete some of his homework.

"The...Draught...of...Peace...is...a...silver...potion...with...a...shimmering...tint. When...mixed...correctly...it...is...a...powerful...potion...but...it...is...extremely... difficult... to produce..." James read his work aloud as he wrote it. Finally, after about five minutes of scribbling words across his parchment, he sat back from the table, rolled his essay up, and shoved it in his bag along with his quill.

"That's got to be the worst essay I've ever written. But who cares. Let's go."

"Excellent," said Sirius. "I'll tell you what: we can work on the charms essay when we get back if you like. And Moony let me copy his Hippogriff essay, so I'll let you use it too."

"Alright. Thanks, Padfoot."

"No problem. Now, to the kitchens!"

Off they went.

When they returned, their pockets were stuffed with chocolates, candies, tarts, and other gifts from the Hogwarts house elves. James and Sirius had somewhat of a reputation with the house elves, as they came to "visit" frequently. They all loved the two of them, and made sure to send an assortment of goodies with them whenever they left.

"Great loot today," said Sirius enthusiastically.

"Fantastic," said James in agreement, his mouth full of almond muffin.

When they returned to the Common Room, James and Sirius gave a portion of their food to Lupin and Peter, and set about devouring their own. Just as promised, Sirius agreed to work on their Charms essay.

"So, how exactly do you do a cheering charm again? I think that was the lesson where we played gobstones..." asked Sirius.

However, a voice interrupted their conversation.

"Potter," said Lily. "We've got to do our rounds."

"Yeah, okay," said James, rolling up his parchment and putting his draft in his bag for safe keeping. "Sirius, I'll be right back. Don't eat my food."

Sirius chuckled. "Of course not, why would I do that?"

James rolled his eyes. He and Lily walked out of the portrait hole.

It was the first time the two of them had been alone together since Lily had apologized to him. Inspired by her parting words, saying he had impressed her in the right way, he was determined to show her he was capable of being mature. Little did he know, she was thinking along the same lines he was, and had resolved to show him she could be kind.

"So," he said casually. "A lot of homework already, isn't there?"

"Yeah, I think the teachers are losing it, personally. But of course it's going to get even worse when N.E.W.T.s get closer..."

James shuddered at the thought of more homework and N.E.W.T.s. Lily smiled at his reaction.

"Come on, Potter. You know you're dreading N.E.W.T.s as much as I am. You're not quite as carefree as you might appear."

"Guilty," he smiled. "I care, I just won't care until the week of the tests, while you'll care months before."

Lily shook her head, feigning a disapproving parent. "Potter, Potter, Potter. All that talent and you're just going to waste it?"

"Well, I'm surprised! Did you just give me a compliment?"

"Yes, but don't push it or you might not get any more," she said warningly.

James was startled. Their conversation had been going so well, and then she reverted to her old self...

Suddenly, Lily burst out laughing. James became even more confused. Yet, he did love the sound of her laughter...

"I was kidding!" she said between giggles. "Yes, I complimented you. You know I think you're talented! You just waste it sometimes.

"James Potter not able to recognize a joke. Well, that's something else!" she added.

James was dumbstruck and had no clue what had just happened. Then, suddenly, the realization hit: Lily had been _joking_ with him. Lily? Joking? _With him_? This was new, but he liked it.

"Lily Evans joking with me? That's not something I'm used to," he said in a joking, defensive voice.

"True enough," she said. But suddenly, her laughing face gave way to a more dejected one.

_What did I do?_ James wondered frantically.

But he was saved by the sound of a student's shrill laughter. Quickly, he and Lily rounded the corner only to find a Slytherin sixth year levitating a Hufflepuff fifth year girl in the air. She was screaming and begging for him to stop. James recognized her.

"PUT HER DOWN!" James yelled.

The Slytherin boy sneered.

"She knocked me over. I can't have that!" His eyes indicated that there was more to the story. James gasped suddenly. He had to keep the rest from Lily.

"That's no excuse to curse her like that," said Lily angrily, unnoticing. "Put her down right now!"

"Or you'll be sent to Professor Dumbledore. I bet _he_ won't find it as funny as you do," added James.

Reluctantly, the boy flicked his wand and the girl fell to the floor. Lily immediately rushed over to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly.

"I didn't mean to knock him over," the girl said breathlessly. Her voice was little more than a terrified whisper. "I tripped- clumsy, you know- and knocked into him." 

"Of course you didn't," said Lily reassuringly, shooting a deathly glare at the boy.

The boy, who had been inching away from the scene slowly, attempted to make a run for it. However, James was too quick for him. He grabbed him by the back of his robes.

"Not so fast. We're going to have a chat with your Head of House before this is over. Ah, that'll be Professor Slughorn, then?"

The boy struggled against James' grip but with no avail.

"Yes," he muttered.

James turned to Lily. "You take her to the hospital wing and make sure she's okay. Then bring her back to the Hufflepuff common room. I'll deal with this one."

Lily nodded. "I'll help you," she said softly, and helped the girl stand up. "There now, it's okay. What's your name?"

"Connie Nelson." _Of course,_ James thought.

"Alright, come on, Connie. Let's go."

As Lily and Connie walked off, James tightened his grip on the boy.

"You- what's your name?"

"Barnabas Ringwald," he said, sneering at James.

"Okay, Barnabas. I'm taking you to Professor Slughorn.

"And don't _ever_ let me catch you attacking a Muggle-born again," snarled James in an undertone.

"How do _you _know she's a Mudblood?" asked Barnabas.

"DON'T say that word," said James, his voice a deathly whisper. "And I know who she is. She's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and it's my job as Head Boy to know the students at Hogwarts. You can't fool me, Barnabas."

"But she doesn't deserve to be here!"

"Shut your mouth, or I'll hex you. We can see how _you_ like it. Trust me, you have no idea who you're talking to right now: I'm the master of hexing people. And she _does _deserve to be here. _You're_ the one who doesn't."

With that, James drug Barnabas to the dungeons. When he arrived, he knocked on Professor Slughorn's door. Not waiting to be called in, he opened the door and pulled Barnabas in. He finally let go of his robes. Barnabas straightened up.

"Oh, hello James! And Barnabas, what a pleasant surprise!" said Professor Slughorn, setting down his cup of tea and turning to face the two boys.

"Hello, Professor," said James. "But with all due respect, it isn't exactly pleasant why we're here..."

Professor Slughorn raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I'm afraid I don't quite understand!"

"I've just caught Barnabas here hexing a Hufflepuff student." 

"Barnabas! Why would you do such a thing?"

James glared furiously at Barnabas.

"She knocked into me, Professor!" he said.

"Oh, come now, we can't go around cursing people who bump into us, now can we? I expect better of you, my boy! Who was the student you cursed?"

"Connie Nelson," James cut in.

"Oh, she's in my Potions class! Extraordinary student, seeing as she's Muggle-born!"

James rounded on Professor Slughorn.

"Professor, you see that was the rest of the problem! Barnabas hexed her because she's Muggle-born! And don't _you_ say that about her, either!"

Professor Slughorn blinked and stammered self-consciously. "Oh, James, you must have misunderstood me! I don't mind that she's Muggle-born! I-"

"I'm sure you don't," said James coldly.

"Here now, Barnabas, you must'nt be doing that. I'm ashamed that you cursed Ms. Nelson simply for being Muggle-born. You have upset me. 5o points from Slytherin! I will be reporting this incident to the Headmaster. Now, both of you, you may go."

James gave Barnabas one last look of upmost loathing, letting him know that while Professor Slughorn may have been lax on his punishment, he himself wouldn't stand for it.

"I'm watching you," he muttered darkly to Barnabas as he left the dungeons without saying goodbye to Professor Slughorn.

**Later...**

When he returned to the common room, it was very late. Sirius was gone and the room was empty, but there was a note sitting on the table where James and Sirius had been working. It said:

_James- went to bed. See you at breakfast tomorrow. Moony said we can copy his essay then. Padfoot._

Sighing, James grabbed his bag, food from the kitchens, and Sirius's note and set off for the Heads Room. When he arrived, Lily was working sleepily at the table, her eyes barely staying open. She looked up when he entered the room.

"Did you bring that boy to Professor Slughorn?"

"Yeah," he said, not sure if he should tell her that he had cursed Connie because she was a Muggle-born. He decided against it for the time being. "I brought him there and Slughorn barely punished him!" he said indignantly.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "That was an awful thing for him to do...did he at least get points taken?"

"Fifty. But no detentions or anything!"

"Ah, well, at least we got him. He could have hurt her..."

"Yeah."

"By the way, for the second time, you've surprised me. I was shocked at how well you handled that boy..."

His heart lept. _You...must...not...seem...full of it..._he thought to himself forcefully.

"Thanks," he said simply. "Just doing my job."

Lily smiled. "You know, you've changed a lot."

"Have I?"

She smiled again, broader this time. "Well, maybe not in some ways. After all, you and Sirius will always be the biggest trouble-makers this school has ever known. But yes, you've changed. Last year, I doubt you would've stopped that boy. You'd have laughed. But this year, you stopped him, and you handled the situation like a true Head Boy."

James had never felt happier in his entire life.

"Well, thanks. I'm glad I was able to do my job." He tried to sound modest.

"You know," he added suddenly. "I think you've changed a bit, too." He hoped she wouldn't be offended.

"Really?"

He spoke cautiously. "Well, it seems like you loosened up a bit, and you actually talk to me now, not insult me..."

She laughed. "I think it's because of you being different. I'm still not convinced completely, but you've surprised me. I'll give you that much."

That was all he needed.

"You know," she said thoughtfully. "Two years ago, _you_ were the one hanging Snape upside down that one time, and I made you stop. Today, you were the one making _him_ stop."

He felt higher than air from her praise, and chose his next move strategically.

"Lily, I really appreciate you saying that. All in a day's work right?" He yawned. "Well, I'm exhausted. Good night."

As much as he wanted to stay and talk to her all night, he wanted to leave the conversation on a good note, and leave her with the thought that he had changed. He was getting better at this, he thought to himself happily as he climbed into bed.

**The next day...**

"WHAT?" whispered Mary unbelievingly. "He stopped him?" Lily and Mary were in charms class, and Lily was recounting last night's events to her friend.

"That's right," said Lily. "He just went over to him and told him to put her down!"

"Blimey! Who would've seen Potter ruining someone's prank?"

"I know! I was shocked!"

"I'll say! Oh, but what happened to her? Was she okay?"

"Miss Macdonald, Miss Evans! Kindly stop talking!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. Lily blushed.

"Now, today we will be learning the Four Points Spell." Lily whipped out her parchment and began taking notes. "This is a useful little charm that produces a compass on the spell-user's hand. It can be used to tell direction if one is lost! Now, put your wands down."

The class set their wands on their desks.

"The incantation: '_Point me._' It's spoken without any voice inflection, but it is a tricky spell to perform, so you must say it with conviction. Repeat after me. _Point me_."

"Point me," said the class in unison.

"Very good, very good! Now let's see you do it with wands! Divide into pairs and practice. By the end of class, you should have the spell down pat!"

Lily and Mary got up and prepared to practice the spell.

"So, anyway, was the girl okay?" asked Mary.

"Yeah, she was fine. I took her to the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey said that she would be alright."

"Well, that's good. I can't believe that guy would hex her just for tripping him. It sounds like something Potter would have done, actually..." she said darkly.

"As a matter of fact, I pointed that out to him."

"Oh, and what did he say?" 

Lily blushed. "Well, I actually pointed that out when I said that it's something he would've _used_ to do. I think he's changed since last term."

"Seriously?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but yeah."

Professor Flitwick approached them.

"Point me," said Lily, pretending they had been practicing the whole time. To her relief, a small compass appeared on her palm.

"Oh, brilliant job, Miss Evans!" said a beaming Mr. Flitwick. "Twenty points to Gryffindor! Miss Macdonald, give it a try!"

Mary cleared her throat. "Point me," she said; she too was successful in producing a compass.

"Excellent, excellent! Take another twenty points!" Professor Flitwick beamed and movied on to another group.

"Well, that was lucky," said Lily.

Mary laughed. "I'll say. But where were we? Oh yes, Potter's changed?" her eyebrows raised quizzickly.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm not convinced, but he seems more mature and less arrogant. Like how he stopped the boy yesterday. Last year, he would've laughed."

Mary appeared to be considering Lily's words. "That's true. Truthfully, I haven't really been around him much this year, but I'll trust you."

"I don't know what it means; I just know that I'm having a harder time calling him an arrogant fool. I think I'm going to give him a chance."

**Later...**

Later that night, James was mulling over his newest homework assignment: 6 inches of parchment about the uses of the Four Points Spell.

"You know," he said to Sirius. "There really _aren't_ many uses of the Four Points Spell."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Sirius replied. "Hm, should I write that in my essay, d'you think?" he asked in a business-like voice.

"Nah, I'd come up with a load of rubbish that sounds good. Let's see. Oh, I've got an idea."

He read aloud as he wrote. "The Four Points spell is a very useful charm that can be used to find your way if you're lost. For example, if you happened to be lost in the Forbidden Forest and about to be attacked by a centaur, you could whip out your wand, perform the proper incantation, and use your conjured compass to navigate your way to safety." 

Sirius chortled. "Simply say _Point me_ with conviction, and you've got a miniature compass that will help you find your way out of trouble. For instance, if I was wandering the corridors late at night past curfew, got lost, and heard a teacher coming, I could use the Four Points spell to find my way back to the common room and avoid getting a detention."

James laughed. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

"No idea, but at least we know now! Next time we're about to be caught by Filch, the first thing I'm going to do is perform the Four Points spell. Brilliant!" said Sirius with sarcastic enthusiasm.

"Right," said James with mock agreement. "Anyway," he continued. "If I was taking my apparation test and landed in a Bulgarian shopping mall by accident, the Four Points Spell would come in handy because I could use it to find my way back to London."

"Furthermore, I could use the Four Points Spell to find my way home if I happened to be lost in the mountains being attacked by a troll."

"Don't forget that you could use it to find your way to the North Pole if you ever fancied a chat with a polar bear!"

"And I could use it to find my way to Wales to visit my dear Aunt Philomina if I forgot the way..."

"And to find my way home if Professor Dumbledore had kidnapped me, flown me to Australia on a broomstick, and left me stranded there because I had received too many detentions. The possibilities are endless..."

Sirius snorted. "Too bad you can't use it to find your way into Evans's heart."

James grimaced. "Ouch, that was harsh!"

"Sorry, Prongs. I didn't mean to crush your ego."

"No problem. But you know what? She seems to be warming up to me..."

Sirius smiled. "Always the charmer, eh?"

"Well, she thinks I've changed."

"Maybe she'll come around."

"I hope so. I bet she will."

Suddenly, the portrait swung open. Speak of the devil: it was Lily herself.

"Rounds?" she asked James.

"Sure," he said casually. Sirius supressed a snort.

Ignoring Sirius, James followed Lily out of the portrait hole. Again, they fell into easy conversation.

"So, how's the Quidditch team looking so far?"

"Brilliant," he replied enthusiastically. "But I bet you've heard loads from Rose."

"Yeah, she goes on about it all the time, but I never really understand what she's saying..."

James chuckled. "Well, I can explain if you want."

"Sure," she said.

"Well, I'm assuming you understand the players and their jobs."

"Yeah, I know that much. Rose is a chaser."

"Right. The other chasers are Henry Brown- a 6th year- and Victoria Fletcher- this new 5th year we've recruited. She's really good, actually."

"Cool. Have you got any other new players?

"Yeah, we've got Michael Cramer, a 6th year beater."

"They're the ones with the bats, right?"

"Yeah. The ones that hit bludgers at people."

"I remember I didn't know anything about Quidditch when I first came to Hogwarts," Lily mused. "I didn't know anything about the wizarding world, really..."

"Look how quickly you picked up on it, though? You're the best witch in our year!"

Lily blushed at his compliment. "Well, thanks..." She appeared to be groping for some compliment to give him in return. He smiled.

"I know, I know, I'm not anything brilliant in school. You don't need to compliment me."

"No, you're talented, Potter," she said fiercely. "You just don't always apply yourself."

"Ah, that seems to be my downfall, doesn't it?"

"Well, you're better than Sirius. I'll give you that." 

He chuckled. "Hey, don't blame Sirius. He's got the best Furnunculus curse I've ever seen!"

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled in spite of herself. "You've been on the receiving end of these Furnunculus hexes, I take it?"

James winced. "Many times. _Too_ many times."

Lily laughed. She was surprised at the new form her relationship with Potter had taken. Who would have ever guessed she'd be strolling down the hall with him- the Head Boy- talking easily about Sirius and his Furnunculus hexes? The world was a surprising place; she felt as if she hardly knew Potter. Worse, she felt as it she hardly knew herself anymore. What happened to hating him? She felt as if she were a different person, giving him a chance. As much as she was eager to keep talking to him, she was also reluctant to fully and without a doubt believe that he had changed, and was a decent person. She still had her reservations: a few conversations couldn't undo the past 6 years. Yet, as long as he didn't ask her out or make a move on her beyond conversations, she felt comfortable talking with him from time to time.

"Well, it looks like there's no trouble tonight," she replied, changing the subject.

"No more Slytherin gits cursing people, you mean," he replied.

"You know, Potter, it's not just _Slytherin gits _who curse people; you're one to talk..."

James gave her a sheepish look. "I can't help it!"

Lily stopped and leaned against the wall. "Oh really? Can't _help_ yourself? Why do you do it, Potter?"

The conversation was entering stormy waters, where James did _not _want it to be. "I dunno." 

Lily shook her head and turned away. "You don't know? _That's_ a great reason..."

James was infuriated at the situation. One minute the conversation had been going so well; the next, she was back to lecturing him about his ego. "You know," he said without thinking. "You always yell at me to stop hexing people. Did you ever think that maybe you should loosen up a bit?"

She was taken aback. "What?" she hissed.

James pressed on. "I've never seen you break a single rule! You need to loosen up and live on the wild side."

"And why would I want to?"

He smiled deviously. "Rules are meant to be broken. And you don't honestly want to go through Hogwarts without getting into a _little _trouble, do you?"

"I do get in trouble! Professor Flitwick told me to stop talking in class today!"

James shook his head. "Lily, I mean _real_ trouble. Surely you can do better than that! After all, you _are _the best witch in our year..."

She sighed. "What's so great about breaking rules, anyway?"

"Why don't I show you?"

"Not so fast." 

"Come on, I'll just show you how to get into the kitchens. You know you want to..." 

She was clearly weighing the idea.

"Fine," she said reluctantly.

He beamed widely. "Excellent!"

"You know, I'm only agreeing to this because I'm hoping to be rewarded with some food when we get there."

"Of course we will! Me 'n Sirius have been there so many times the elves know us by name and always give us a ton of food." 

James was delighted. She was clearly warming up to him, and even agreeing to break a few rules along the way. He lead her to the familiar picture of Gregory the Smarmy and tickled the fruit until it turned into a doornob. He pulled it open.

"After you," he said, stepping aside.

Hesitantly, she crept inside. When she emerged from the doorway and saw the room before her, she gasped. There were house-elves everywhere circling the shelves, stoves, and cupboards. In the middle of the room there were four enormous tables roughly beneath where Lily would have guessed the house tables were in the Great Hall.

"Happy you came, after all?" asked James.

Lily just gaped in response, meriting a chuckle from James.

"Oh, hello Master James!" called a house-elf.

"Hi, Trixie," said James.

"Who is this you brought with you?" asked Trixie the elf.

"This is Lily," said James, his insides squirming.

"Hello, Master Lily!" said Trixie, beaming jovially.

"Hello, Trixie," said Lily kindly.

"I have never met you before, Miss. You've never been to the kitchens."

"Yes, not until now," she said, shooting a mangled glare at James that was somewhat of a cross between disapproval and amusement. He chuckled.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Miss?" 

"Sure, thank you."

Suddenly, four house-elves appeared out of nowhere. One carried a teapot, one a cup, one a spoon, and one a saucer.

"Here you are, Master Lily," said the house-elf carrying the teapot.

"This is Marvin, Miss," said Trixie of the teapot-bearing house-elf.

Marvin bowed. "Pleased to meet you! Is there anything else I can get you, Master Lily?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you."

The two of them stayed in the kitchens talking easily with the house-elves and eating their fill of muffins, fritters, and tarts, until Lily yawned widely and said it was time to go.

"Bye!" she said to the house-elves as she and James left.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked.

It was true. Lily had actually enjoyed their visit to the kitchen. "No," she said fairly. "Those fritters were amazing and I never even knew they had house-elves at Hogwarts! But we better go back now..."

"Now you know how much fun rule-breaking can be."

"The kitchens weren't too bad. I'll give you that. But that's _it._"

"If you insist..."

They walked in silence for a few moments, until it was broken by Lily's frantic whisper.

"Someone's coming!"

James' heartbeat quickened. "_Filch!_"

"YOO-HOO! ANYBODY THERE?" came Filch's jeering call.

"GO!" she whispered quickly.

"Follow me!" said James. He broke into a run.

Lily had no time to think or consider her actions. The only thing on her mind was Filch, the care-taker, coming nearer and nearer until he discovered James and Lilys' midnight escapade...

She dashed after him.

Flich, who undoubtedly heard their footsteps, followed.

"I know someone's there! You can't hide!" screamed Filch. "Come on, Mrs. Norris, we've got some filthy students to catch..."

"Where are we going?" Lily called frantically.

"Secret passage!" James called over his shoulder.

Lily followed him down the corridor until they came to a staircase.

"Oooh, I bet it's James Potter and Sirius Black, out after hours _again_!"

They sprinted up it, faster now, and rounded a corner. Lily's heart was beating uncontrollably. What would happen when Filch caught them out of bed late at night and turned them in to Dumbledore? She didn't answer her own thought. The steps and corridors felt endless. Filch appeared to be gaining on them...

"This is it!" called James.

They had come to a picture of a mangy looking goblin wearing a tattered toga, holding a knife, and shooting them a mutinous glare.

James approached the painting and touched the tip of the knife's blade.

"HERE I COME!"

"Go! GO!" James urged the painting.

Lily was riveted to the spot, hoping that whatever James was hoping would happen would happen soon.

Finally, the painting materialized into a door. James flung it open and the pair dashed inside, slamming the door behind them: They were safe.

James peered out the peep hole on the door.

"Can he see us?" asked Lily anxiously.

"No, we're completely hidden."

Filch's voice was audible through the door.

"I'll get you, you filthy, bratty, useless students! Right to the headmaster, we'll go!" 

Lily cringed, waiting for Filch to pass. To her immense relief, he walked on, brandishing his light.

There was a thick silence in the secret passage while James and Lilys' hearts slowed down. They were both relieved that they had escaped, and the adrenaline was beginning to wear off.

"Well..." James said, trying to break the silence, but at a lack of words.

Maybe it was the remainder of the adrenaline; maybe it was because she was shocked that she was hiding in a secret passage with Potter; maybe it was for no reason at all. Yet, whatever the reason was, Lily began to laugh in spite of herself.

"Wow. That's all I can say," she said breathlessly.

"That's for sure," said James, shaking his head.

"Who would have guessed I would sneak into the kitchens, wander the halls at night, be nearly caught by Filch, and then hide in a secret passage to avoid him? And with you?" Lily threw her hands in the air.

James smiled. "Enjoying being a rebel, are you?"

"Maybe for one night, but let's not push it. How do we get back to the common room?" 

"Conveniently enough," said James. "We've just got to follow this passage. It leads to the fire in the Common Room!"

Lily gaped. "So _that's _how you and Sirius manage?"

James winked at her; She turned away.

"After you," said James, diverting the situation.

Lily began to walk, and to her astonishment, discovered that she and James were stepping out of the fireplace in Gryffindor Common Room in no time.

"Well, that was quite an evening," said Lily. "Good night, Potter."

She turned and began to ascend the steps up to the girls' dormitory. She couldn't help but notice that she was smiling.

**The next day...**

For the second time in two days, Lily found herself recounting surprising stories about herself and Potter to Mary in Charms class.

Mary's eyebrows were traveling steadily up her forehead as she read the note Lily had written to her. Grabbing her quill, she wrote back.

**Blimey, Lily! What are you playing at?**

Lily wasn't quite sure of the answer herself, but nevertheless, she wrote back.

I don't know, honestly, I was doing rounds with him, and next thing I know we're in the kitchen and then being chased by Filch. 

**Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, it IS Potter, anyway...**

I know, it was just crazy at the time.

**This is huge, though. First you two save that girl, and now you go on midnight adventures?**

It's not like that!

**Are you sure? It seems like you don't hate him as much as you used to. **

This was true. But part of her hated herself for it, and the rest didn't care in the slightest.

Well, like I said, he's changed.

**If you're sure...**

I am sure. What are you trying to say, anyway? 

**Nothing...Just remember that you used to hate him when you get a sudden urge to run round the school with him.**

I know, I know! But it's not anything. I can tolerate him now, that's it.

**Okay, if you say he's different, I believe you. I just don't want to see you get hurt.**

Lily knew Mary had her best interests at heart; after all, Potter had hurt her many times. She sighed to herself, and turned to face Professor Flitwick.

**Meanwhile...**

Lily and Mary were not the only ones passing notes that day: James was filling his own friends in on the events of the previous night.

_**Prongs, where were you last night?**_

_It's a long story._

_**We've got time.**_

_Okay, but you're not going to believe this. I was with Evans._

_**What? DOING what?**_

_Nothing like that. Hold your Hipogriffs. We were just doing rounds, and then events became very interesting..._

_**What happened? You're killing me here.**_

_Well, I convinced her to sneak into the kitchens with me, and then we were leaving, and Filch showed up._

_**Blimey! Evans agreeing to sneak into the kitchens! You didn't get caught, did you?  
**_

_Nah, that's the rest of the story. When he showed up, we ran to our secret passage and hid from him. _

_**WHAT? You told her where our secret passage is?**_

_That's all you have to say?  
_

_**Right, sorry. Congratulations, mate. Looks like she's taken a liking to you.**_

James folded up the parchment. Sirius was right: it seemed like she had.

**Author's Note: I really like this chapter, personally. It was really fun to write and re-read. But let me know what you think about it! :) more to come soon...**


	4. Gryffindor Versus Slytherin

**The Marauders Tale**

**Disclaimer: As much as I love all things Harry Potter, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any scenarios, names, and concepts of this story belong to her. **

**Chapter 4: Gryffindor Versus Slytherin**

"You all know what's coming up." James was pacing back and forth in front of his quidditch team in the locker room. "You all know what we've been preparing for."

He looked at the team expectantly.

"The Slytherin match!" shouted Henry.

"Right. The Slytherin match is in only two short days, and I _refuse-_" he said in a deathly whisper. "-To lose it."

The team murmured their agreement.

"Do you know what that means?"

There were fragmented responses chorusing throughout the locker room:

"Extra training sessions?" "Skive off Potions, like you said. _Come on_..." "Train harder than we've ever trained before."

"That's right," James said. "We've got to train harder than we've ever trained before." He eyes Victoria, who had answered as such, with an almost idolizing glance.

"Now," he continued. "I'm not going to give you a long pep talk. I'm just going to say this: we're going to win. End of story."

With that, he led his team onto the pitch. After releasing the balls, the game began. The team flew better than they ever had before. James, Rose, and Victoria worked as a finely woven unit and unleashed shot after shot targeted at the hoops. The only thing as good as the chasers was Marcus as keeper; he let in only two goals, and made a number of outstanding saves.

"If we fly like that the day of the match, we've got the game won," James told the team after practice. "And remember, this is _Slytherin_ for God's sake! This is what Gryffindors live for: beating Slytherin."

A chorus of laughter and cheers echoed across the pitch. They were going to win.

**The next day...**

The day before the match, it became apparent that the Slytherin team was as set on winning as the Gryffindor team was. The Slytherin captain, Nathaniel Horn, and the rest of the Slytherins tried to hex members of the Gryffindor team on numerous occasions; nearly all the Gryffindor players had been cursed by lunchtime. Victoria showed up to lunch with boils sprouting across her face, Marcus' arms been had turned into tentacles, Stuart was reportedly in the hospital wing with a number of broken bones, and Henry's face had swolen to the size and shape of a large watermelon.

"That's it!" roared James as he received the news of the day's 5th assault shortly after lunch: Michael had been locked in a broom closet. "I'm ordering that everyone on the Gryffindor team be escorted to their classes!"

He, himself had been attacked numerous times. Nathaniel had attempted to sneak a bit of powerful sleeping potion into his goblet at lunch, a random Slytherin boy had tripped him in the hall after breakfast, and Gordon Thomas, a Slytherin beater, had tried to turn him into a slug. However, James' reflexes were good enough that he was able to avoid the attacks.

"Really, Nathaniel? You don't think I'm _that_ much of a git to drink that, do you? Well, then again, you don't know a git when he's staring you in the face; if you did, you would've recognized him every time you look in the mirror..." he had said coldly to Nathaniel as he tried to offer him a cup of pumpkin juice. Sirius had howled with laughter as Nathaniel stalked off muttering something unintelligible, yet sounding somewhat like "We'll see...".

**The following day...**

The day of the match dawned bright and clear, perfect weather for Quidditch. James awoke early in the morning, before any of his friends were up. Unable to get back to sleep, he put his glasses on and wandered downstairs to the Common Room. He couldn't sit still, and was beginning to become restless with nerves about the upcoming match. Sighing, he ran back up to the dormitory, grabbed his broomstick, and headed out to the Quidditch pitch. It was empty, as expected at 6:00 in the morning. James kicked off and soared into the air; his nerves were instantly averted. As he flew through the air, he concentrated on his technique. He practiced a few dives, spirals, and sprints across the pitch. He seemed to be on form; this was a huge relief. _No,_ he told himself. _Don't get stressed over the match. But it's SLYTHERIN_, another voice said. He shook his head to rid himself of the nerves. His team would be fine; they had practiced hard for the match.

After what seemed like ages, he begrudginly flew down to the ground and headed inside to the Great Hall. Everyone was at breakfast; he grabbed a seat next to Sirius.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Flying," James replied. "Wanted to take my mind off the match."

"You'll do fine," said Sirius, clapping James on the back. "We're going to beat some Slytherins today, eh?"

James smiled a forced smile.

"Jeez, you must be nervous! Normally you'd be jumping at the chance to make fun of Slytherins!"

"Padfoot!" interjected another voice. It was Remus. "You're not helping!" He turned his attention to James. "Prongs, you're going to fly great, I know it."

"Thanks, Moony. And I am excited to wipe that smile of Horn's face," he acknowledged Sirius.

"That's my boy! You show him! Oh- and I'm comentating," said Sirius deviously.

James smiled his first real smile of the conversation. "Excellent."

"James!" called another voice: Rose. "We'd best head out to the field."

"Right." 

But Sirius had stood up onto the table. "LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!" he yelled. "BEAT SLYTHERIN!"

The table errupted into a chorus of cheers. James and Rose walked out of the Great Hall toward the locker room. There, they were joined by the rest of the team.

"Okay," said James. "This is it. LET'S WIN!"

The team cheered as they walked onto the pitch. Sirius was sitting in the stands, ready to commentate. He had obviously amplified his voice.

"AND HERE THEY COME: THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!"

He paused to allow the crowd to roar its approval.

"I GIVE YOU...PRICE! CRAMER! CLEARWATER! FLETCHER! **POTTER! **[he said James' name with extra enthusiasm] FABIAN! AAAAND...BROWN!"

The crowd cheered once more.

"AND NOW, PREPARE YOURSELF FOR...THE UGLY...THE HORRIBLE...THE WORTHLESS...SLYTHERIN QUIDDITCH TEAM!"

Half the crowd laughed (James included); the rest booed. But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned out the entire crowd. "BLACK! BE FAIR NOW!"

"Yes, sorry, Professor! Not really...But moving on! I GIVE YOU...THOMAS! COURTRIGHT! COBWOOD! MYERS! HORN! [he said Nathaniel's name in a scathing voice] SMITH! AAAAND...WALTER!"

The Slytherins in the stands waved their green and silver banners. James glanced at the Gryffindor section of the stands. His eyes rested on Lily, who was wearing a Gryffindor scarf and holding a sign that read 'GO ROSE!' across it in scarlet and gold across it. He forced himself to look away and concentrate on the match.

"Now, I want a clean game!" shouted Professor Cox, the flying instructor. "Captains, shake hands!"

James approached Nathaniel; it was impossible to say who was wearing an expression full of more loathing. They grasped hands, and Nathaniel seemed to be attempting to break James' fingers. After one wrenching shake, James pulled his hand away immediately, and stalked off to his team.

"ON MY WHISTLE!" shouted Professor Cox. "ONE...TWO...THREE!"

The two teams shot into the air, and the balls were released.

"AND THEY'RE OFF! IT'S GRYFFINDOR IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE AS POTTER GRABS IT! MY IS HE SOMETHING WITH THAT QUAFFLE!"

The Slytherins booed viciously.

The game had instantly turned nasty. Gordon Thomas, a beater, whacked his bat at James, hitting him in the head.

"WHAT IS THIS?" roared Sirius.

"THOMAS!" screamed Professor Cox.

"Sorry, professor! I thought his head was a bludger with that black hair of his!"

"PENALTY- GRYFFINDOR!"

The Slytherins booed yet again.

James accepted the quaffle from Professor Cox and flew in front of the goal posts. Professor Cox blew her whistle; James threw the quaffle with all his might toward the rightmost hoop.

"POTTER SCORES! TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor section cheered wildly.

"Nice shot!" called Rose.

"Thanks," called James. The game was immediately back underway.

"IT'S CLEARWATER WITH THE QUAFFLE NOW! NICE FLYING THERE! SHE THROWS IT TO FLETCHER! OOH, CAREFUL THERE!"

Winston Courtright, the other Slytherin beater, had hit a bludger violently toward Victoria. However, she dodged it aptly and retained possession of the quaffle.

"FLETCHER! CLEARWATER! POTTER! GO, JAMES! COME ON!"

James was streaking toward the goal, the quaffle tucked under his arm. When he neared the goalposts, he drew back his arm and shot the quaffle. However, Priscilla Smith, the Slytherin's keeper, blocked it with the end of her broom.

"NICE SHOT BY POTTER, BUT BLOCKED BY THE SLYTHERIN KEEPER. IT'S SLYTHERIN IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE NOW, AS SMITH TOSSES IT TO HORN!"

Nathaniel sped toward the Gryffindor hoops, but was stopped.

"THAT'S A NICELY PLACED BLUDGER BY PRICE! HORN DROPS THE QUAFFLE, AND IT'S FLETCHER IN POSSESSION!"

Victoria was directly underneath Nathaniel when he dropped the quaffle, anticipating his error. As she caught the red ball, she flew toward the goal. The Slytherin beaters slammed into her hard on either side, forcing her to drop the quaffle.

"COME ON, PENALTY!" roared Sirius. "THAT SCUM JUST CHEATED!"

"BLACK!"

"No, Professor! Did you see that-"

"PENALTY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, COURTRIGHT AND THOMAS?

"THANK YOU, PROFESSOR!" said Sirius. "AND IT'S POTTER TAKING THE PENALTY, COME ON NOW...YES! HE'S SCORED! TWENTY-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"

James did a victory lap around the pitch. The Gryffindors were cheering madly for him. He lept back into the game, however, as the Slytherins took control of the quaffle.

"LEWIS COBWOOD WITH THE QUAFFLE! OH NO, SOMEBODY STOP HIM!"

Lewis was streaking toward Gryffindor's goal, his path unobstructed.

"GO!" yelled James to his teammates.

But they were too late. Lewis shot the quaffle.

"NICE SAVE! BLOODY BRILLIANT SAVE BY MARCUS FABIAN, THE GRYFFINDOR KEEPER! TAKE THAT, YOU STINKING-"

"BLACK, IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU ONE MORE TIME-"

"AND IT'S CLEARWATER WITH THE QUAFFLE!"

"Go, Rose!" shouted Lily amidst the clamor of the Gryffindors.

"GO! GO! GO! SHOOT...NOW!"

Rose shot the quaffle to the far left post, but Priscilla got there in time to block it. The Slytherins roared their approval.

"BLOCKED," said Sirius scathingly. "WAIT, WHAT IS THIS?"

Henry, Gryffindor's seeker, was streaking toward the Slytherin goal, his eyes alit with concentration. James looked frantically toward the goal, and sure enough, the golden snitch was fluttering around the center post. Nick Walter, the Slytherin seeker, immediately began to follow Henry.

"GO, HENRY!" screamed Sirius.

It looked as if Henry was about to get the snitch and end the treacherous match, but-

"WHAT? DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!" Sirius was beside himself.

Indeed, Gordon had flown headlong into Henry and blocked him from catching the snitch. Luckily, Nick had missed it as well.

"THIS IS THE WORST BEHAVIOR I'VE EVER SEEN!" screamed Professor Cox. "PENALTY- GRYFFINDOR. AND IF ANYTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS AGAIN, YOU'RE OUT OF THE MATCH, THOMAS!"

Sirius swore loudly; Professor McGonagall did not reprimand him for once. She seemed beyond caring, rather, she was shouting her disapproval at Gordon.

"THIS IS THE MOST FOUL, UGLY PLAY I'VE EVER SEEN, TOO!" screamed Sirius. "YOU WATCH IT, YOU BLOODY FOOLS!"

Gordon was smirking to himself as James took the quaffle. _I'll show you, _he thought.

"AAAND JAMES SCORES AGAIN! THIRTY-ZERO GRYFFINDOR! LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH US!"

Scowling, Priscilla threw the quaffle to Nathaniel.

"HORN! COBWOOD! BACK TO HORN! MYERS!"

Hannah Myers was holding the quaffle and flying toward the Gryffindor goal. She dodged a bludger sent her way from Michael, pulled back her arm, and shot the quaffle.

Sirius swore again. "SLYTHERIN SCORES! THIRTY-TEN, GRYFFINDOR!"

Marcus tossed the quaffle angrily to Victoria.

"FLETCHER! LOOK AT HER GO!"

Victoria was weaving across the field, dodging stray bludgers and Slytherin players.

"COME ON, VICTORIA!"

She was nearing the goal...she was closer...she was there...she was...

"FOULED! YOU WATCH IT, HORN, OR I'LL BE OUT THERE MYSElF-"

Nathaniel had knocked Victoria very violently, and she had nearly fallen off her broom.

"AND IT'S CLEARWATER TAKING THE PENALTY AS POTTER ATTENDS TO FLETCHER!"

Rose took the quaffle, her hands shaking slightly but her eyes narrowed with determination and dislike.

"GO ROSE!" yelled Lily, this time joined by Mary and Katie; the three of them were jumping up and down. 

Rose flew back and forth across the goal hoops, apparently deciding which one she woudl shoot at. Priscilla's eyes followed her. Rose came to a stop close to the leftmost hoop, Priscilla stopping with her. Rose pulled back her arm and shot- at the rightmost hoop.

"CLEARWATER SCORES! BRILLIANT FEIGHTING TECHNIQUE! FOURTY-TEN, GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose smiled to herself, but her smile turned instantly to a smirk as she eyed Priscilla.

The game was underway again, and play was only getting dirtier. Fifteen treacherous minutes later, Gryffindor had been granted five penalty shots, and the score was up to 90-20, Gryffindor.

"IT'S SLYTHERIN WITH THE QUAFFLE, HEADING TOWARD THE GOALPOSTS! COME ON, STOP HIM!"

Cobwood was streaking toward the Gryffindor Goal, the quaffle tucked at his side.

"HE SHOOTS...AAAAND..._SAVED!_ BY NONE OTHER THAN MARCUS FABIAN, MY HERO-"

"THAT'S IT!" screamed Horn, beside himself with his team's performance. "PLAN B!"

"WHAT IS THIS?" called Sirius in response. "WHAT IS THIS _PLAN B_ YOU SPEAK OF?" He said each word with upmost dislike. "PROFESSOR COX, SURELY YOU CAN'T ALLOW THIS?"

It took only 1 minute for 'Plan B' to become clear. Horn and Cobwood were streaking toward the Gryffindor Goal, without the quaffle.

"What the-" yelled James. "MARCUS! OUT OF THE WAY!"

Horn and Cobwood were speeding straight toward the Gryffindor seeker. Marcus tried to dive out of the way when he realized what was happening, but he was too late. The Slytherins had knocked him off his broom. He was plumeting downward, faster and faster, his limbs flailing around him, pressing down on the air around him...James would never get there in time...

With a thud, Marcus landed on James's broom. James had flown beneath him and caught him on his broom.

"WHAT THE- RUDDY- WHAT IS- _YOU SCUM!"_ Sirius's anger was rendering him incoherent.

"PROFESSOR COX!" roared Professor MacGonagall herself, her face flushed and her tight bun slightly disheveled. "SURELY-"

"HORN AND COBWOOD! WHAT ON _EARTH_ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? I'VE PUT UP WITH THIS ROTTEN PLAY LONG ENOUGH. _YOU'RE OUT OF THE GAME!"_

The Slytherin section booed desperately. "HE FELL!" someone yelled. "SERVED HIM RIGHT!" screamed another.

"SLYTHERIN WILL PLAY WITHOUT HORN AND COBWOOD!" shouted Professor Cox, livid with anger. "IF ANYONE DARE DO _ANYTHING_ LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU'RE DONE WITH QUIDDITCH! IF IT WEREN'T FOR POTTER..."

The Gryffindor section cheered. James, unacknowledging, was supporting Marcus on his broom.

"You alright?" he asked.

Marcus looked slightly dazed, but unharmed.

"Yeah, better get back..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we've got a game to win." James grinned.

"Oh," said Marcus as James flew him back to his own broom. "_Thanks._"

"No problem."

"ON MY WHISTLE, YOU MAY RESUME PLAY! ONE- TWO- THREE!"

The game recommenced, the Slytherin team playing impossibly more brutally in the absense of their lost players.

However, it only took a few minutes for the game to end.

"HERE HE GOES!" shouted Sirius, jumping up and down with mad excitement. "HENRY'S AFTER THE SNITCH!"

Henry was streaking through the air, his hand outstretched, his eyes glinting feverishly.

"COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!"

He was nearing the snitch; the Slytherin seeker was nowhere in the proximity...

"YES!" bellowed Sirius. "HE'S GOT IT! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Henry raised the snitch in his left hand; it was struggling in his enclosed fist.

His teammates engulfed him.

"TAKE THAT, YOU BLOODY FOOLS! GRYFFINDOR WINS, 240-20!" With that, Sirius shot an enormous burgundy and gold lion out of his wand above the pitch. It roared and pranced through the air, until it came to a stop beside the pile of Gryffindor quidditch players.

James was elated: They had won. They had beaten Slytherin.

**Meanwhile...**

"Great job, Rose!" exclaimed Lily as she rushed down onto the Quidditch pitch to meet her friend after the match. Mary and Katie came following close behind. "You were brilliant!"

"Thanks!" said Rose rather breathlessly.

"That penalty shot where you faked going for the left one and then went for the right one, and that goal where you shot it in right under Priscilla's nose..." said Katie. "You were great!" 

"I just _had_ to beat them- if they won..." Rose shook her head.

Everyone laughed.

"By the way, how was your Meteor?" asked Lily.

"Brilliant! It was unbelievable. It was so easy to stear, and it went so fast!"

"Well you looked great out there," said Katie. "Can I have a go on it sometime?"

"Sure!"

"Oh my gosh," said Lily. "I was frantic while I was watching, though!"

"I know what you mean!" said Mary indignantly. "They were playing horrible! The way they knocked around Victoria...and _Marcus_!"

Katie nodded solemnly. "If it weren't for James catching him..." her voice trailed off.

But there was no need to finish the statement. Everyone was aware that James had saved Marcus's life. Lily, especially.

**Author's Note: Sorry there's not very much action in this chapter except for Quidditch, but it was really fun to write about and I still hope you enjoyed it. As always, please review! Chapter 5 is on the way.**


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